Here are the statistics regarding tobacco: Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, imposing a terrible toll in health, lives, and dollars on families, businesses and government. Tobacco kills more than 480,000 people annually–more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. Tobacco costs the U.S. approximately $170 billion in health care expenditures and more than $150 billion in lost productivity each year. While the United States has made major progress against tobacco use, nearly one in five Americans still smokes, and more than 2,500 kids try their first cigarette each day. http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/ In addition, secondhand smoke causes serious diseases and premature death among nonsmokers. That's why a growing number of states, cities and countries are enacting laws that require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. North Dakota will be the 30th smoke-free state as a result of a ballot initative voters approved on Nov. 6, 2012. These laws protect everyone's right to breathe clean air. A Global Movement for Smoke-Free Air There has been enormous progress in the United States, and a growing movement globally, to enact strong smoke-free laws: • In the U.S., 30 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus hundreds of cities and counties, have enacted strong smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars. The states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. • A growing number of countries have also passed strong smoke-free laws. These include: Bhutan, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Guatemala, Guinea, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Turkey, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Zambia. All Canadian provinces/territories and Australian states/territories have enacted such laws. A Toxic Soup of Chemicals and Carcinogens Secondhand smoke is a poisonous mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. The U.S. Surgeon General and public health agencies around the world have documented overwhelming evidence of the deadly effects of secondhand smoke: • Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults. Among babies and children, it causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), low birth weight, respiratory and ear infections, and more severe asthma attacks. • There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can trigger harmful changes in the cardiovascular system that increases risk of heart attack or stroke. • In the U.S., secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 people each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, secondhand smoke kills more than 600,000 people each year, according to a 2010 study by the World Health Organization. Smoke-Free Laws: The Only Solution Public health authorities have concluded that the only way to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is to require completely smoke-free workplaces and public places. Other approaches, such as air ventilation systems and separate smoking and non-smoking sections, do not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. Numerous scientific studies have also documented that smoke-free policies do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry (see our Fact Sheet: Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Hurt Business at Restaurants and Bars). I would like to know why Virginia is lagging behind the rest of the country in passing legislation to protect it’s residents and kids? Even Washington DC and Tennessee have passed laws protecting our right to breathe clean air. Instead, all I see is our representatives protecting the tobacco lobby and it’s addicts and our state become more unhealthy with obesity rates at an all time high. I’m asking you to sign this petition to our state representatives to introduce legislation to ban all smoking in public places and in cars where kids are present This is directly affecting me and others in our society and I'm sick of seeing our kids addicted to these products.

Greed is not paramount to life. Life is sacred. All life. In every form. When money is more important to you than protecting those whom you are charged with protecting, you simply need to be held accountable. The governor of Michigan knowingly supplied poisonous water into every home in Flint,MI. The water is so bad, it leeched lead from the pipes. Lead is poison. It never leaves your body after you have ingested it. It can cause brain damage and other damage, all of which is irrevocable. He ignored the facts given to him by scientists. He allowed data to be manipulated and changed in order to not raise suspicions. He scoffed at residents as the complaints came pouring in immediately after their drinking water source was changed from the great lake of Huron, to one of the most contaminated rivers in America. If this man were anyone else he would be in prison. Let's show politicians that they aren't above the law. Hold this man responsible. Let's give him a one way trip to Jackson prison!!

About dhs selling our children and not working with the other part of the family

I'm sick of people dying and being locked away for stupid reasons.

I am a mother who's concerned about children's exposure to carcinogenic chemicals. Kids are more vulnerable, yet RoundUp (glyphosate) is routinely sprayed in parks and on food. Glyphosate is already banned in many countries. Our government has a duty to protect children’s health.

This is an OBVIOUS ISSUE each and every concerned citizen is aware of and it requires no justification or proof!  Power to the People!

In the context of these due process problems – and the ongoing danger of violence faced by Central American refugees – it is irresponsible, dangerous, and inhumane to proceed with large scale deportation raids. Many of the immigrants who recently entered the country are fleeing violence in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala – countries with some of the highest rates of violence in the world. Much of the violence – perpetrated by police, paramilitary gangs, and drug gangs – is the legacy of decades of anti-democratic U.S. intervention in the region. Over and over again in Latin America, the United States government has undermined democracy, supported and trained oppressive military and police forces, and sent weapons. During the cold war, in the name of fighting communism, the CIA helped overthrow democratically elected governments, replacing them with violent dictators friendly to the U.S. The notorious “School of the Americas” – a U.S. military base in Georgia – trained Latin American dictators and their paramilitary foot soldiers in the use of torture and assassinations. The U.S. has an obligation to give refuge to all immigrants who come here to escape violence. But when children and families from Central America come to the U.S. to seek safety from the violence in their countries, the U.S. has a special responsibility, given the role it has played in the region. Instead, the Obama administration is sending people back into a violent environment the U.S. helped create, with very little regard for their safety or rights as human beings.

Chicago is a beautiful city that I love. Chicago deserves to have leadership that looks out for all of the residents in the city no matter what neighborhood they live in. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been bad for the city's middle class and is hurting Chicago. He has pushed people out of their neighborhoods, closed down public schools, sold off Chicago's parking meters, and mishandled police misconduct cases. Chicago voters have lost confidence in Mayor Rahm Emanuel and they should get the opportunity to recall him.

Newly revealed documents show that Exxon’s own scientists were aware of and studying the dangerous impacts of greenhouse gases in the 1970s and 1980s -- until Exxon’s leadership decided to shut down the research and promote climate denial instead, in order to protect the company’s unfathomably large profits. Now Washingtonians -- like all other American citizens -- are suffering from the damages of Exxon's unlimited greenhouse pollution. The unprecedented drought, fueled by global warming, caused over a billion dollars in damages and devastated our farmers. Extreme storms have brought death and mayhem to our state. Intense wildfires are costing the state budget tens of millions of dollars a year. Sea level rise is already harming Washington's coastal communities. And the risks of continued global warming pollution to the state are many times greater. The Washington Attorney General's Office should use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute Exxon’s deliberate deception -- such as state RICO laws, Washington's Unfair Business Practices statute (Chapter 19.86 RCW), consumer fraud statutes, or any other laws that are intended to protect Washingtonian citizens from deliberate corporate misconduct. The attorneys general of 46 states successfully sued tobacco companies to pay for decades of deadly deceit -- now it’s time for Exxon and the fossil-fuel industry to pay for their climate crimes.

Immigration authorities are carrying out home raids targeting mothers and children who recently escaped violence in their home countries. On Monday, January 4 DHS reported that at least 121 individuals, mostly women and children from Central America, were detained by ICE and are ready to be deported. The ICE raids were conducted primarily in Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Sign the petition asking the Obama administration and DHS to stop the ICE raids that are causing fear in our communities. ____________________ Las autoridades de inmigración están llevando a cabo redadas de casas dirigidas a las madres y niños que recientemente escaparon la violencia en sus países de origen. El Departamento de Seguridad Interna (DHS) dio a conocer el lunes 4 de enero que por lo menos 121 personas, en su mayoría mujeres y niños de Centro América, fueron detenidos y serán deportados. Las redadas se llevaron a cabo principalmente en Georgia, Texas, y North Carolina, de acuerdo al comunicado. Firma la petición pidiendo a la administración de Obama y el DHS que ponga un alto a las redadas de ICE que están causando terror en nuestras comunidades.

California is facing a massive health crisis. An estimated 14 percent of Californians have diabetes today, costing the state $24.5 billion in health and work-related costs. Overwhelming evidence from leading academic research institutions shows that liquid sugar is uniquely responsible. And, a whopping 65% of California teens consume a sugar sweetened beverage, such as soda, every day. The science is clear, and the health risks cannot be ignored any longer: we must act fast. One critical step forward is SB 203, a bill that will help families avoid diabetes by printing a clear and visible warning label on the front of all sugary drinks sold in the state. These labels will send a clear message about the very real dangers soda and sugary drinks pose to our health, and empower Californians to make informed decisions about the products they consume. Three Democrats who have taken money from industry groups that market sugary beverages blocked this critical bill last year by refusing to vote on it. They are threatening to block it again – we only need ONE of them to vote yes. We must join together to defeat Big Soda and their attempts to buy our legislators and stop all efforts to inform consumers and protect our kids. Sign the petition today!

Captain Sams Spit is a 150-acre pristine sandy land mass at the southern end of Kiawah Island. The "Spit" is home to one of a handful of dolphin pods known to "strand feed" (chase fish up onto the beach to eat). Captain Sams is also relied upon by the piping plover, diamondback terrapin and other rare and threatened species for nesting and feeding. For eight years, environmental groups have challenged numerous permits issued to Kiawah Development Partners (KDP) and its affiliates that would enable KDP's proposal to build a high-end residential development on the highly dynamic Spit. KDP is based out of North Carolina and backed by the same New York hedge fund that manages some of the New York State retirement fund, continues to push for permits to develop the property. Thwarted by the South Carolina Supreme Court, they are now targeting the protections of our entire coastline. KDP have sought to amend a beachfront management bill (S.139) in our state legislature this session, and actually managed to convince Senator Campbell (R-Berkeley County) to defend its proposal (the "Kiawah Amendment"). The bill in question would set a permanent baseline along our entire coast using data from June 14, 2011, defending taxpayers, homeowners and natural resources from development too close to the ocean. This recommendation came from the Blue Ribbon Committee on Shoreline Management's Final Report (https://www.scdhec.gov/library/CR-010631.pdf), on which Sen. Campbell participated. The "Kiawah Amendment" would delay setting that baseline, allowing road and other construction to occur even closer to the ocean on Captain Sams Spit. Most recently, because of pressure from KDP, the senate committee dealing with bill S.139 has removed the language for a permanent baseline entirely. Sign this petition to tell your state senator to: 1. support putting the permanent baseline language back in bill S.139, and 2. set the baseline using the June 14, 2011 date, per the Blue Ribbon Committee recommendation. Petition: I support South Carolina Senate Bill 139 with the permanent baseline language restored and set for the Blue Ribbon Committee’s recommendation of June 14, 2011. It is important to set a permanent baseline along our state’s beaches. Our beachfront management laws should not be dictated by special interests like Kiawah Development Partners. Web site: http://coastalconservationleague.org/ for more information